The art and science of effective feedback : What works, what does not … and why

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain how to provide effective feedback. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers three impediments to effective feedback – the pain of social rejection, the fact that people tend to listen from their dominant brain hemisphere and subjectivity, culture and personal reference points – and describes how to overcome them. Findings – The paper highlights the importance of getting authentically connected, getting the opposite brain hemisphere activated in the feedback process or, ideally, activating both, and providing feedback in terms of the impact a person experienced. Practical implications – The paper asserts that context and relationship must be created before the feedback is given for it to have the most powerful, positive impact. Ideally, the person receiving the feedback will also have a choice as to whether he or she wants to hear it, and when. Social implications – The paper reveals that, through studies in neuroscience, psychology, consciousness and even quantum physics, new things are being learned daily about how humans think and behave. Originality/value – The paper reveals why feedback can make people feel threatened and explains what to do about it.